When Kevin McKenna asked wife Aoife to marry him she agreed on one condition – that he bring her to Euro 2016.

Aoife Kenna and husband Kevin from Rathfarnham, Dublin with friend Deirdre Dunne at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in ParisFan outside the Euro 2016 Fanzone in ParisFans outisde the Euro 2016 Fanzone in ParisBrian O'Donnell and Jason Small from Co Tyrone join Tom Baxter from Essex at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in ParisFans watching the France and Romania game at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in ParisIrish fans at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in Paris

He kept his promise and last night they tipped down in Paris for the start of the feast of football.

In the shadow of the Eiffel Tower the couple, who are originally from Rathfarnham in Dublin, told Independent.ie that they travelled all the way from Boston , Massachusetts for the games.

Aoife (31) explained that they had planned the trip three years ago when they were still living in Ireland.

“We said 'France, that's easy to get to'. We couldn't really back out then especially after we bought the flights we had no choice.

The couple got married last year in Tipperary and Kevin held up his side of the bargain.

But getting to the tournament wasn't plain sailing for Aoife and Kevin, who are in France with Rathfarnham friends Nicola Keegan (29) and Deirdre Dunne (29).

Aoife said their flight from Boston was two hours late leaving the airport.

Irish fans at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in Paris

“We were told that when we arrived the connecting flight would wait for us. But when we arrived there were 30 passengers left stranded in Reykjavik. They told us 'you might be on the flight tomorrow'. We ended up having to buy another flight with Iceland Air just to get here today.

“Otherwise we would still be in Reykjavik.”

The group of friends are travelling to the Ireland and Sweden game in the Stade de France on Monday but haven't decided if they will travel down to Bordeaux for the Belgium clash.

Asked what their predictions are for the tournament Aoife said she was confident that we would progress. “I did my prediction and we got to the semi-finals.”

The group took their place in the huge fanzone alongside 40,000 supporters from around the world. Jerseys from the 24 competing nations and a number of other countries that didn't make it were all on show in the huge arena.

Fears about potential attacks quickly fizzled away inside the zone which is adjacent to the Eiffel Tower.

There were two major security checks before the arena but fans said they moved swiflty through the cordons.

Christine and Val Fitzgerald speak to Independent.ie at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in Paris

Val Fitzgerald (79) and his wife Christine (55) from Co Tipperary were in the fanzone with their son James. Their other son Sean and James's girlfriend are due to join them this weekend to make it a complete family occassion.

Christine explained that there was no way they were missing out on the tournament. “We went to them in Poland and we really enjoyed it and we go to a lot of the away games and we really like it.”

The mum said they were a “tiny bit” concerned about the security threat in France but added that it wasn't going to stop their travels.

Fans watching the France and Romania game at the Euro 2016 Fanzone in Paris

“I don't think we can be. It's what we want to do and you can't let it put you off.”